Can anyone vent how hard to wait on rebuild?

[Es4M11]

3 minutes ago, Pickles said:

It's hard to have major complaints about Elias so far.

I have none. I have a lot of confidence he is the right guy for this team going forward.

[HowAboutThat]

51 minutes ago, Aglets said:

I got much more enjoyment during 2019 from following the ins and outs of the minor leagues on a more regular basis.    I plan on doing the same this year and encourage others to try.  There are big bright spots down there that are moving ever closer..........

I tried that last season but the radio announcers for the minor league teams are so bad I can’t listen to them. Monotonic voices and boring commentary.

[HowAboutThat]

The main thing is direction. Whoever has the blame, there were many stupid decisions, and you can do much more damage with one stupid than you can do good with one smart. The result was a retool that should have started after 2014 never started at all.

so getting back to the foundation is hard.

The main thing is that we are on a road, and we are in the right direction. We’re not in circles or going backwards. I applaud that discipline.

Having said that, wins ARE important, and I hate Mike saying they aren’t right now. 60 is better than 55, and we should win as many as possible without ruining the plan.

[LookinUp]

4 hours ago, oriolediehard said:

It is so hard to stomach the O's rebuild. I know it needs to be done, but it is hard to take. The season hasn't even started yet and we know we are facing a more than 110 loss season. It is so hard watching other teams making moves while we trade away our 2 best players for what little hope we can have for an entertaining season. 

 

It's ok by me if you vent. I completely understand it.

 I accept the vision, so I'm not whining about the near term results. I'm embracing them as part of the bigger plan.

[Just Regular]

I feel like the worst is already over.  The tease of Opening Day Akin is in place.  We'll see in April if Hunter Harvey can handle 10 innings/month.  The new franchise player is in place.

Whereas last year Santander, Means and Mancini surprised to play themselves into "maybe" status for 2022 onward, this summer we should get to see plenty of Mountcastle/Hays/Diaz (that's Rutschman's whole OF, potentially), and a bunch of pitchers who could be backend guys before things really start getting interesting in 2021.

[LookinUp]

13 minutes ago, OrioleDog said:

I feel like the worst is already over.  The tease of Opening Day Akin is in place.  We'll see in April if Hunter Harvey can handle 10 innings/month.  The new franchise player is in place.

Whereas last year Santander, Means and Mancini surprised to play themselves into "maybe" status for 2022 onward, this summer we should get to see plenty of Mountcastle/Hays/Diaz (that's Rutschman's whole OF, potentially), and a bunch of pitchers who could be backend guys before things really start getting interesting in 2021.

Seems too optimistic to me. 

[NCRaven]

Absolutely support the rebuild, though not necessarily every single move.  Thought the Bundy trade was good.  Thought we gave Villar away just to dump salary, so I didn't like it.  I'd be fine trading Mancini, given(s) a solid return.   Looking forward to seeing Hays and Mountcastle play.  Looking forward to watching the minors.  Plan to get out to some games in Frederick and Bowie.  That's where the real action and excitement will be this year.  And, next year. And...

[OsEatAlEast]

I find it hard to get mad on something that had to be done. One can debate on waiting way too long to do it. But there really is no other course. We might be pleasantly surprised because there seems to be a concerted effort to pick a direction and go with it.

[Just Regular]

9 minutes ago, LookinUp said:

Seems too optimistic to me. 

Bit of a choice, but I'll hang on to it until Hall and Rodriguez starting going in for their TJ's.  It's really grounded in those high variance high school pitchers coming along well so far.  Rutschman feels low variance, so the real X factors the next half season are can their progress continue, and is 1-2 Martin, Torkelson or Hancock, giving a clue as to what positions the best Rutschman teams will ultimately need to augment with outside talent.

[atomic]

2 hours ago, interloper said:

I think y'all are crazy, I'm having a blast with this rebuild. I sincerely mean that. The organization is so much more interesting than it's been since the three playoff runs. Check back with me in 3 years and if we're in the same spot I'll be venting. Until then, I'm eating all this up and having a good time seeing how it shakes out.

So you bought season tickets?

[TAMC]

14 minutes ago, atomic said:

So you bought season tickets?

Well, I did re-up in spite of expressing some irritation the other day.  I have watched and participated in a lot of baseball, both as an Oriole season ticket holder for more than 20 years and while working with the local youth baseball league as a coach and official.  A lot of it was not winning baseball.  I don't really care that we have traded two players I enjoyed because I also enjoyed watching some promising young players get a chance -- even when they didn't always look as good as I had hoped.  Nonetheless, I did seriously consider taking my entertainment dollars elsewhere.  Furthermore, I would not have come back.  It is a multi-hour hassle getting to a game in Washington/Baltimore traffic and there needs to be some feeling that the team appreciates the long term fans.  Some of the recent changes in Fan Fest, the Dugout Club, etc. (with each change something of a surprise) has not felt like appreciation.  Being told by the fan rep that all that is just the way it is also does not seem like appreciation for my business. 

I like the changes to the baseball side of things, even though there may not be a winning team for a few years, because I see hope for the future under what I consider to be a more intelligent approach to sustaining a winning team.  I believe, with no proof, that the organization seriously overspent for several years to maintain a hope of winning playoff games and thereby starved other elements of the organization.  I believe, with no proof, that the current efforts to reduce spending on the major league team is necessary to rebuild the infrastructure, including the ability to adequately evaluate and train young players.  I buy all that and I really can enjoy seeing less talented players giving everything they have to win a game, even if they are somewhat lacking in talent. 

However, I am irritated by some recent changes to things I enjoyed with little official explanation of why the changes were made. Wins are not unimportant to me , I would rather see a win than a loss when I fight beltway traffic to get there.  That said, I am willing to watch losses if I am given a little more information about the reallocation of resources.  I am willing to see things like Fan Fest cancelled if someone would say why it is not economically feasible given the need to re-allocate resources.  I can deal with a lot of negatives if there is any attempt to explain why they are necessary.  If that is whining to others, then so be it. Many on OH have ideas of why and I always like to hear those ideas, but I hear a vast silence from official sources.  Feeding the mushrooms (season ticket holders and other loyal fans) a little bit of information could make up for a lot.

[wildbillhiccup]

I'm honestly just biding my team until we reach the point where we can root for players who we know will be part of the team's future. That's the most frustrating part to me. Trying to justify investing in (and rooting for) players who we all know aren't part of the team's long term plan. And that has nothing to do with wins and losses. 

[wildbillhiccup]

1 hour ago, OrioleDog said:

I feel like the worst is already over.  The tease of Opening Day Akin is in place.  We'll see in April if Hunter Harvey can handle 10 innings/month.  The new franchise player is in place.

Whereas last year Santander, Means and Mancini surprised to play themselves into "maybe" status for 2022 onward, this summer we should get to see plenty of Mountcastle/Hays/Diaz (that's Rutschman's whole OF, potentially), and a bunch of pitchers who could be backend guys before things really start getting interesting in 2021.

I hope you're right, but I just don't think the full calvary starts coming until 2020. I think Mountcastle and Hays are the only youngsters we see this season. 

[El Gordo]

8 hours ago, oriolediehard said:

It is so hard to stomach the O's rebuild. I know it needs to be done, but it is hard to take. The season hasn't even started yet and we know we are facing a more than 110 loss season. It is so hard watching other teams making moves while we trade away our 2 best players for what little hope we can have for an entertaining season. 

 

I much prefer this to 1998 -2011

C Severino/Caleb

1B Mancini

2B Hanser

SS Hechevaria

3B Ruiz/Nunez

LF Mountcastle

CF Hays

RF Santandar

DH Nunez/Davis

Team looks more interesting than last years.

Edited December 11, 2019 by El Gordo

[Frobby]

4 hours ago, wildbillhiccup said:

I hope you're right, but I just don't think the full calvary starts coming until 2020. I think Mountcastle and Hays are the only youngsters we see this season. 

Akin, Kremer, Zimmermann.   Though it remains to be seen how good they’ll be.   

I’m interested to see if John Means can maintain his success.    And how Hunter Harvey performs spending all year in the majors.